Fourth Time's the Charm
by mavjade
Summary: L/M Mush The three times Luke forgot an important date and the one time he didn't. For Monday Mush Mania


**Title:** Fourth Time's The Charm (or The Three Times Luke Had to Make Up for Missing an Important Date, and the One Time He Didn't)

**Author:** mavjade

**Characters:** Luke/Mara

**Genre:** Mush

**Notes:** For the 10th Monday Mush Mainia at theforce [dot] net, where we were to write a vignette in which a character has to make up for forgetting - or missing - an important holiday, anniversary, or occasion.

~*~*~

The three times Luke had to make up for missing an important date, and the one time he didn't.

.

**First Time:**

Luke had been having one of those feelings for several days now that told him there was something he was forgetting. He checked his schedule several times and found nothing of importance coming up in the near future, only a few meetings and classes he was going to teach.

He assured himself that if it were really important he would remember what it was soon enough, but the feeling just would not go away.

Later that night, Mara seemed to be in a mood and his focus shifted to what could be wrong with her and he forgot all about his feeling. By the time they went to bed, she was in a worse mood, barely saying anything at all as he told her goodnight. He was still no closer to figuring out what was wrong.

Wracking his brain, the feeling of missing something came back with a vengence. Not only that but Mara seemed mad at him and he could not think of what he had done, or not done.

As he was about to drift off to sleep he realized where all of his feelings, and Mara's, came from. Hopping out of bed carefully, trying not to wake his sleeping wife, he worked his way over to the computer to look at the date.

As soon as he saw what the date was, he winced.

He had forgotten her lifeday, or at least the one she set for herself since she didn't really know when that was.

He knew it was going to take a lot for him to make it up to her and that it would have to be something special.

.

**Second Time:**

The second time Luke forgot an important date was not entirely his fault, nor was it exactly that he forgot.

He knew that Winter Fete was coming up and had planned on buying gifts for Mara and Ben, but he had been called away on an important mission for the Galactic Alliance. It was something very unexpected but something that he could not pass off to someone else or delay for a few days.

He had planned on only being gone for the first few days of the festival and be back in time to exchange gifts on the last day. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.

He managed to steal away a few minutes to comm his family, but even that was very short.

"I am so sorry, Mara. I know I promised I'd be home but I have to stay here a few more days."

As he was speaking he heard a small voice getting closer and closer, "Daddy!"

Finally the top of Ben's head appeared and Mara picked him up so he could see the comm. "Daddy, you comin' home for presents?"

Luke frowned, "No buddy, I'm sorry. We'll do presents when I get back, I promise."

Ben looked sad but nodded his head, "Okay."

"You've got a lot to make up for, farmboy," his wife interjected.

"I know. I will, promise."

.

**Third Time:**

The third time Luke missed a special occasion, he knew he was in more trouble than he had ever been before.

There was a party with dignitaries; Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, all the important people in the Galactic Alliance and representatives of those planets planning on joining. Of course this meant that the Grand Master of the Jedi and his wife were expected to attend.

Luke had a great deal of work to make up that day and so he went to his office early and promised to meet Mara at the party just as it was starting.

Mara waited patiently for her husband to arrive. When half an hour had passed she stepped to the side to comm him, unsuccessfully. When she reached out in the Force she couldn't get him to pay attention to her, he was so caught up in what he was doing.

Leia cornered her and asked about her brother, but asked Mara not to leave to find him because that would make his absence all the more apparent. At least Mara could make excuses to the whereabouts of the Jedi Master.

When he finally did show up two hours into the party, not only was his wife furious but so were his sister and brother-in-law, though Han was only angry due to the fact that Luke managed to get out of two hours of mingling.

On their way home, Mara did not ask where he had been, she simply acted normal, talking about who was at the party and what she planned on doing the next day.

Luke knew he was in trouble when Mara acted as though she was not angry, even though he knew she was.

"I'm going to make it up to you, I promise."

Mara turned to look at him and let just a little of her fury show in her eyes, "You'd better, Skywalker."

.

**Charm:**

Luke knew for that past year or so that he had been very neglectful of his wife. He knew she understood he was very busy--she was usually busy herself--but Luke couldn't help feeling awful about it.

It was for this reason he decided not to miss the next special occasion.

~*~*~

"We need to leave for the Merren sector tomorrow and we'll be gone for at least four or five days. There's an artifact that was found that they believe may have Sith origins and I think we need to go take a look at it. I've already got Han and Leia to watch Ben. Can you be ready tonight?" Luke asked his wife.

Mara sighed. Their wedding anniversary was in two days and she had hoped to have her husband all to herself. She had already asked Leia if they could watch Ben for a few days and cleared her schedule as much as she could, but like usual, the Jedi Order got in the way of her plans. Still, at least she would be [i]with[/i] Luke. She figured Luke had forgotten, again. He tended to be a little spacy about dates and she couldn't blame him, he was a very busy man.

She agreed that she could get herself and Ben ready for a few days away before the day was over and have her things packed in the [i]Jade Sabre[/i].

Luke could tell his wife was disappointed, and part of him felt bad about that, but he knew all his deception would turn out very well in the end; or so he hoped. While Mara was loading the ship and he was pretending to get things for the Order finished before he left, Luke got a few clothing items that he thought Mara might need on their 'mission.'

On the way he gave Mara all the information on the Sith artifact that they were investigating, information that he had made up but he knew she would never believe his ruse if he was not thorough. Even as it was he had to keep a tight reign on his feelings and he was still worried that she would see through him or his information.

Once they arrived, Luke took her to a room that he had commed ahead to have set up. The room was full of candles that had been lit when they landed, and it had a private pool within as well as a hot-spring right outside the back door. There were flower petals scattered all over and an exotic fruit tray waiting for them on the bed.

When Mara walked in the door, she was not sure what to think. She figured there had been a mistake and they had gotten a room intended for newlyweds. Turning to look at Luke, she rethought her theory. The smile on his face was huge, making his eyes sparkle.

"Luke? What is this?" she asked.

"Happy anniversary, Mara."

Realizing what he had gone through to make this special, Mara wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and kissed him passionately. There were many luxuries and amenities she could partake of, later.

They spent the next few days basking in each others' love and generally enjoying each others' company. At times through the past year they were both so busy they had forgotten to have time for each other, but for just a few days they were Luke and Mara, husband and wife, not Jedi Masters or parents.

On their final day as they were about to depart Mara wrapped her arms around Luke's back, stopping him from gathering their luggage, and laid her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, farmboy. I, " she stopped and corrected herself, "_we_ really needed this."

Luke kissed her on the top of her head, "You're welcome, love. I told you I'd make it up to you."

_~fin_


End file.
